Jack Benjamin

I went through basic training at San Antonio, then on to Germany.  I worked as a pediatrician
 

for two years in a dispensary in Mannheim and one year as a pediatrician in Heidelberg's 130th

Station Hospital.  I entered as a Captain in 1969 and was discharged as a Major in 1972. 

I  was commissioned into the US Air Force as a Regular Officer after  graduation as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Harvard ROTC in  1962. My initial assignment was to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at  Kirtland AFB with additional duties as the Parachute Training  Coordinator (I was a rated parachutist as a result of spending my  Harvard summers as a Smokejumper with the US Forest Service) for Fifth  Force Recon USMC. The Air Force then sent me to the Univ of Chicago to  get an MBA (11 months start to finish by taking double courses every  day). I then served as the Logistics Planner and Parachute Qualification  Coordinator, HQ 19th Air Force (AFSTRIKE) travelling in the Middle East  and Africa. In 1966 I was reassigned as the Vietnam Program Manager,  Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Office of the Secretary of  Defense and then spent the next two years in and out of South East Asia  participating in a wide variety of combat operations. In my spare time, I  also served as a White House Military Social Aide.
 

All in all, my six years in the US military were a privilege and a much  more rewarding experience than those of my civilian classmates. The only  reason I left the military was that in my last assignment in the Office  of the Secretary of Defense I had so totally antagonized the powers  that be in the senior ranks of the military by my  reports to the SecDef  on the incompetent management of the conflict in Vietnam that my future  assignments would have been in Thule or worse. 

I  did Harvard NROTC, served 9/62-8/64 (ensign/Ltjg) in PacFleet frigate  USS Coontz DLG-9, homeported San Diego. Qualifed OOD independent  steaming, etc., First Lieutenant, running bos'n's mates & seamen  'deck apes' in timeless seafaring jobs - anchorings, moorings, operating  ship's boats, stevedoring, etc. Tough kids, smart aleks, some bad guys,  many great kids. WestPac w/ supercarrier USS Kittyhawk CVA-63, 'show  the flag' ports of call, a couple bizarre operations off the Kurile  Islands to test Sov air defenses... Not one shot fired in anger -  classic MO of post-war American shield in western Pacific. 
 

And  then, as I was mustering out, came the miasmic event that changed so  much for so many ever after - the Tonkin Gulf incident. 
 

How many Tonkin Gulfs have we seen since then? Even one is too damn many. In  my life as a journalist, I've spent a fair amount of time with US  servicemen and women since '62-64. I don't know more dedicated,  courageous and thoughtful professionals than they - enlisted or  commissioned.  

Entered  flight training shortly after graduation with the Marine Corps  component of Naval Aviation.  Selected a VMO squadron and subsequently  extended active duty tour to serve in Vietnam.  An adrenaline packed  year - mid '65 to Sept '66 flying the UH-1E.  Military service fit my  personal image in that duty, honor, & country ranked high within my  value hierarchy.  I salute any of my classmates who chose to serve.  

My  fourth year of college (NROTC) was not spent at Harvard, but was spent  at University of Washington in Seattle, getting a MS in Nuclear  Engineering.  In August of 1962, as an Ensign, USNR, I reported to  BUSHIPS Code 1500/Naval Reactors in Washington DC.  Classmate Gareth  Eaton (NROTC) also served in this activity, which involved dual  appointments from the Navy and Atomic Energy Commission.  I was assigned  design review and administrative duties dealing with fluid and  structural systems on existing nuclear powered submarines, from SSN  Nautilus forward to attack submarines and ballistic missile submarines.   After 18 months of this work in the headquarters organization of  Admiral Hyman Rickover, our 'class' of officers was sent to Pittsburgh  to attend six months of schooling in nuclear power matters at the Bettis  Atomic Power Laboratory (Westinghouse).  While most of our 'class'  returned to the headquarters organization in Washington DC, I chose to  become a field representative of Naval Reactors at Newport News  Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.  I worked there on refueling and  overhaul of several ballistic missile submarines, CVAN Enterprise and  the nuclear powered cruiser USS Long Beach, each of which underwent a  variety of design changes in the shipyard.  In spring of 1967, I filled  in for the Naval Reactors field representative at Charleston Naval  Shipyard for the final several months of my military duty.  The work of  field representative was to maintain awareness of the technical issues  surrounding the nuclear power plant of naval ships, reporting to the  headquarters organization.  Lots of hours, learning and responsibility  for enforcement of Naval Reactors policies, and nearly all of it on  shore (excepting sea trials for ships completing overhaul and  refueling).  

At the tail end of the Korean Conflict, I enlisted and I spent four great
years as an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy before starting Harvard. I was an
Electronic Technician and served on a MHC (Mine Hunter Coastal), and AKA
(Cargo Ship) and an LST (Landing Ship Troops). I never went anywhere
exciting, always on the East Coast. To this day, I rely heavily on what I
learned  in those four years. I had no idea at the time that my military
experience would help direct me to a career in consumer electronics 

 Although  military service is not for everyone I think that some form of  post-college public service (including military) is typically--although  not always--beneficial for both the individual and the nation.  What we  hope is, of course, that those who serve in harms' way return safely  with enhanced maturity and judgment and with a better developed capacity  for personal responsibility, loyalty and team work.  

  I  reported to Ft Knox 3 weeks after graduation and was assigned as XO of a  training company the next day.  Surprisingly I was somewhat qualified,  but shortly went to Basic Officers course, with mostly Pointers.  Again  decently prepared.  Given deployment leave after being assigned to  Berlin.
Returning  from leave with my parents we heard Kennedy's Cuban/Russian missle  crises radio address.  Parents had to leave me at the main gate as an MP  jeep took me to transient OQ, past lots of railroad flat cars being  loaded with tanks and APCs.  Reported the next AM and was told I was  taking a plane full of troops to Berlin, which they said was just as  volatile.  Interesting trip and arrival, where I was met by platoon sgt  with a machine gun jeep, gas mask, and .45.
Things  calmed down.  1st job in Berlin was running a platoon which was  required to have at least one patrol in East Berlin 24/7.  It also had  twice daily patrols running the zonal and sector borders with other  stops to watch Russo/DDR activity.  Many amusing incidents, in  retrospect..
 Have  a memory of a meal at the Berlin French Officers club, which was almost  duplicated a few weeks later at a French golf course a half globe away,  where the army says I never was.  It was much nicer in Germany where  American troops were appreciated, than other places where we really were  not - as is the case today. Back  in Berlin I soldiered at different jobs, finishing as a TDY co of a  battalion minus tank unit.  Sent back early to to advanced Officer  training course, assigned to the Armor School under the command of the  Lonely End, until I choose law school rather than Nam. 

I  went through the fixed-wing flight program but in 1964 was sent through  helicopter qualification because the Marine Corps, anticipating the  March 1965 buildup in Vietnam, recognized a great shortage of chopper  pilots.  Ass that I was, I was happy, because I saw it as a chance to  get to Vietnam early and experience a little combat.
 
The Marine Corps didn't disappoint me; I  went over in June of 1965 and flew mainly out of Danang, though often in  the Chu Lai and Phu Bai sectors.  As I alluded in the 50th report,  there was no shortage of interesting moments.  One, amazingly enough,  was shared with Mal Mixon, who at that time was an artillery officer at  Chu Lai. He will be more than happy to relate his perspective of that  particular adventure, but suffice it to say that I'm confident neither  he nor I have ever come closer to meeting the Grim Reaper, and I say  that as one who was hit by ground fire any number of times and once had a  copilot take a round through what he (and any other male) would regard  as the most important part of his anatomy.
 
After that tour I extended the West Pac  tour in order to enjoy MCAS Iwakuni Japan and the attendant delights  available off base, but the pleasure was short-lived.  Our group was  soon deployed to Danang, where I flew the A-4 Skyhawk.  That seemed to  be considerably safer than the chopper tour, in that we mainly flew  south of the DMZ; while there was ground fire, most of the time we were  not aware of it, in marked contrast to sitting in a hot zone in a H-34,  wondering what a round through the head would feel like.
 
I left active duty to go with the CIA and  there ran into Jack Downing on my first day at the Agency Headquarters.   Jack went on to a   remarkably distinguished career with the CIA,  rising to run what used to be called the Directorate of Clandestine  Services.  I, in contrast went nowhere.  After completing a year-long  training program, I was told that I would be sent to Laos as a ground  operations officer.  While I'd had enough of the Southeast Asia War  Games, I thought that if I had to go back there at all it would be as a  pilot, not one watching aerial displays from the ground, so I resigned  from the Agency and became an airline pilot.
 
I served a total of 28 years, active and  reserve, and flew with both fixed-wing and helicopter squadrons in the  reserves.  Through all those years I felt incredibly privileged to serve  with men of uniformly high dedication and competence.
 
This has gone on too long, so I'll close  by saying that I think the absence of a draft has not served the country  well.  An all-volunteer  force is unquestionably more professional and  easy to manage, but I think that if a wide spectrum of families had  loved ones at risk there would be far less willingness to commit to  ill-conceived follies of the sort that have cost us thousands of lives  and trillions in national treasure.   

 As  I look back over the past fifty years, I find that I have traveled a  path very different from most of my classmates. Long before student  protests restricted other student's choices, ROTC was a fixture at  Harvard. Even though I came from a nonmilitary background, I opted to  join, looking to serve two years. Little did I know that it would  stretch to a twenty-year career. I am pleased to see that ROTC is  returning to Harvard. First, there was time in the combat arms to  include two tours in Vietnam. Based on a  recommendation from a mentor, I specialized in the financial management  of non-appropriated funds, the monies generated by military personnel  during their non-duty time. I also became an advocate for improving the  quality of life of soldiers and their families as we moved into an  all-volunteer force. A second difference was that I got married prior to  completing my degree - a complete rarity for undergraduates at the  time. The combination of the two events resulted in the opportunity to  raise a family in various cultures, both in multiple states and  overseas. It was a treat for out family to combine travel and education,  which continues to this day. 

National Service

The  academic and residential buildings for undergraduates at Harvard are  separated from the athletic fields by the Charles River. Every day,  hundreds of undergraduates cross the river to train their bodies,  participate in team sports, and engage in friendly competition with  students from other colleges. Although some of the them cross the  Charles by the Weeks Bridge, most use the Lars Anderson Bridge. As you  step on to the Lars Anderson Bridge from the academic side of the  Charles there is a large plague on one of the pillars.

MAY THIS BRIDGE

BUILT IN MEMORY OF

A SCHOLAR AND SOLDIER

CONNECTING THE COLLEGE YARD

AND PLAYING FIELDS OF HARVARD

BE AN EVER PRESENT REMINDER

TO STUDENTS PASSING OVER IT

OF LOYALTY TO COUNTRY

AND ALMA MATER

AND A LASTING SUGGESTION

THAT THEY SHOULD DEVOTE

THEIR MANHOOD DEVELOPED

BY STUDY AND PLAY

ON THE BANKS OF THIS RIVER

TO THE NATION AND ITS NEEDS

I  would like to suggest three reasons why required national service would  be good for individuals and three reasons why it would be good for the  nation. The reasons are rather obvious, but being obvious does not mean  that our country will have the political will to enact national service.

1.  National service would get people of different economic, educational,  racial, and geographic backgrounds to work together. That creates  greater understanding.

When  I arrived at Harvard I went out for freshman cross country. Another  runner on that team was Bob Knapp. To my Mid-western ears, his Long  Island accent sounded harsh and abrasive. Within a week or so, I got  used to his accent and we became good friends. Having dinner with Bob at  the 50th Reunion was one of the highlights for me.

When  I was in the U.S. Army Reserves, after basic training, I was sent to  automotive supply school. I had degrees from Harvard and Oxford, but  knew nothing about automobile parts. The high school drop outs in  training with me, had worked on cars all their lives. It was good for me  to be dependent on their knowledge and good will.

2.  Even middle class American young people lead fairly comfortable lives.  National service in which they help people in need will help American  young people learn about those less fortunate.

At  both of the Independent Schools where I have been Headmaster, and  where many of the students come from comfortable backgrounds, I have  instituted a social service requirement. I remember one high school  sophomore in particular. His parents were rich enough to have given the  money to build a large building for the school. The family hired people  to take care of any need they had. When he did his social service, he  helped clean the house of a woman who was on welfare because she had had  a leg amputated and could not work. He not only learned about her  needs, but felt good that he was doing something for someone else,  rather than having servants taking care of him.

3. I believe that being part of a group and making sacrifices for a group is one of the most satisfying experiences there is.

I  know of 4 of our classmates (and there may have been others) who,  before any Reunion activities began, crossed over the Lars Anderson  Bridge to visit the places where they did athletics as undergraduates.  (2 runners, a hockey player, and one oarsman) These were not men for  whom athletics had been the only significant thing they had done. (They  were a headmaster, the President of the Canadian Bar Association, The  President of Newsweek, Inc., and a professor of pediatrics at Duke  Medical School.) But they are men for whom, contributing to the success  of a team, was an important part of their undergraduate experience.

One  of the ways the Mormon Church builds such loyalty is by getting its  young people to give significant amounts of time to the Church.

Under  benefits to the nation, I am assuming that a good national service  program would allow people some choice of service, but would be designed  so that all those with the best education and economic status could not  avoid military service.

1.  Having the sons and daughters of all social classes serve in the  military would cut down on military adventurism by our leaders. If the  sons and daughters of the people with influence (particularly people who  contribute significantly to political campaigns) were serving in the  military, our leaders would be more reluctant to send them into combat.  Richard Nixon knew exactly what he was doing when he ended the draft.  Anti-war protests on college campus dropped dramatically.

2. National  Service would bring more of the best and the brightest into the  military. That can only be good for the national defense.

3.  Think what could be done for the country as a whole if all young people  gave time to help with education, clean up the filth in our cities,  improve our national parks, visit the elderly, assist in hospitals, etc.  All of us would  benefit from their service.

Mark H. Mullin